Market morning, too early.
We left so early this morning; now that it’s past the equinox, seven o’clock isn’t yet full daylight. The farmers drive out onto the dock, and carry their produce and flowers down the ramp.
Musicians at the San Juan Island market
Musicians played at the market, as the morning opened up a bit more light.
In the Farmer’s Markets, which are increasing in number, we are reviving an old and valuable bit of culture. The public market, the Agora of ancient Greece, never loses its allure.
In Greece, the Agora was the center of civic life. In addition to the sellers of meat and olives and wool in the open square, there were places for public assembly, and the intellectuals would lecture and dispute the public issues of the day.
Laws were posted, and there were dramatic productions, and festive processions, and athletic contests. Surrounding the open square were beautiful public buildings covered with art, and there were groves and statuary and altars and libraries.
So, we still have some distance to cover in order to reach the sophistication of ancient Greece (although I think women were not welcomed easily into that ancient public sphere.). But the strolling musicians, the artisans and the bakers and farmers, are a modest but authentic embodiment of the Agora.
Market days are long, and I was glad to be headed home when I took this photo out the window of the boat:
On our way home
Farmer’s Market, and the Agora
Market morning, too early.
We left so early this morning; now that it’s past the equinox, seven o’clock isn’t yet full daylight. The farmers drive out onto the dock, and carry their produce and flowers down the ramp.
Musicians at the San Juan Island market
Musicians played at the market, as the morning opened up a bit more light.
In the Farmer’s Markets, which are increasing in number, we are reviving an old and valuable bit of culture. The public market, the Agora of ancient Greece, never loses its allure.
In Greece, the Agora was the center of civic life. In addition to the sellers of meat and olives and wool in the open square, there were places for public assembly, and the intellectuals would lecture and dispute the public issues of the day.
Laws were posted, and there were dramatic productions, and festive processions, and athletic contests. Surrounding the open square were beautiful public buildings covered with art, and there were groves and statuary and altars and libraries.
So, we still have some distance to cover in order to reach the sophistication of ancient Greece (although I think women were not welcomed easily into that ancient public sphere.). But the strolling musicians, the artisans and the bakers and farmers, are a modest but authentic embodiment of the Agora.
Market days are long, and I was glad to be headed home when I took this photo out the window of the boat:
On our way home